Letters / Intech voices

InTech, Jun 2002

Upon reading the article, "HMI/SCADA meets the Web-and likes it" [March 2002],l was a bit miffed. Why? In it, Jim Strothman pumped up supposed software giant Wonderware's SuiteVoyager and Terminal Services solution and its supposed arch rival Intellution's iClient TS solution. He even covered small market Citect's Plant2Business solution. What Jim didn't tell us was the following:

Neither Wonderware, Intellution, nor Cited was first to market with this type of solution. Rockwell Software's RSView32/Active Display was fully supported on Terminal Services prior to the others.

Wonderware's so-called giant status has been disappearing over the years. Since 1996, its market share has fallen by almost 8% worldwide and by over 20% in North America. Folks are shying away from a company that hasn't changed its underlying architecture in almost 10 years.

Wonderware's so-called arch rival, Intellution, hasn't fared much better. Since 1996, its market share has fallen by over 17% worldwide but has increased about 3% in North America.

Citect, which supposedly claims 70% of the HMI/SCADA market down under, really has slightly more than 26%.

The new bully on the block is, again, Rockwell Software's RSView 32, et al. Since 1996, Rockwell's market share has increased over 144% worldwide, 150% in North America, and 133% in Asia. Additionally, it is currently No. 2 in North America (ahead of Intellution) and closing in on Wonderware fast.

Wonderware and Intellution embellish the facts about themselves and their competitors enough; they don't need your help, too, Jim.

Dr. Mike Vega, San Pedro, Belize

EDITOR'S REPLY

Please remember the article's whole point was about how browser-based technology, coupled with HMI/SCADA systems, can speed business decision making beyond the plant floor-throughout organizations and their supply chains. For sure, Rockwell, Siemens, and other HMI/SCADA suppliers can also speak to the same subject.Companies have been debating market share numbers for years. Significant claims, however, usually indicate a vendor does have know-how and experience worth sharing.

Jim Strothman

Article stands corrected

There area few technical errors in the SNMP World Bus Journal article ["SNMP puts the brakes on driving with 'blind faith,'"April 2002]. Regarding spanning tree, Hirschmann can do spanning tree, but the whole point is that it is far too slow fur use in an industrial environment. Hence, we use a proprietary system called HIPER-Ring, which has been recognised by the other players in the automation market-Siemens, Rockwell, Mitsubishi, Schneider, etc.-as the way forward because it allows reconfiguration of the network in the event of link failure in under half a second, whereas spanning tree takes 30 seconds.

Also, we don't use OPC to convert SNMP information into OPC tags.We use our software called HiControl (which ships as part of HiVision) to convert SNMP information into OPC tags. Incidentally, Steve Woram's software, Industrial SNMP does the same thing.

Paul Taylor, Bedford, England

U.S. jobs aground

I read your byline on companies [Viewpoint, April 2002], and while interesting, it belies more serious problems.

Yes, it's great to read about Dow-Corning being resourceful and innovative while under a financial restructuring request, but America has a far more serious problem on its hands:jobs!

Where will people work in the future? With company after company unloading thousands of people (some with immense skill sets to boot), we are losing not only our core employment but also our ability to grow the middle class.

Without doubt, you saw where Levi Strauss not only unloaded 3,300 souls but also said it wanted to get out of manufacturing altogether. Where will Levi's be made? My guess is in India or China, where for 50 cents a day, a worker will work 10-hour days sewing jeans (for a dwindling American market),due to the lack of well-paying jobs.

At the rate the U.S. is going, it won't matter that in a short time I will have three high-level programming languages under my belt because there won't be a demand for the glut of engineers we'll soon have.

American CEOs need to focus on long-term rather than short-term growth.We also need to send a message to Wall Street by refusing to invest if they don't get their act together. I'm sick and tired of Wall Street sending the market on a roller coaster because of their perceptions. I have an enormous amount invested, and quite frankly, I'm sorry I do. Engineers resent people who don't act logically, and I resent a faction of people who send the market downward when something small happens on the exchange floor. If you think I'm wrong, look at the stock ticker and Krispy Kreme. When the traders on the exchange floor get a bad batch, the market (and Krispy Kreme) slides downward.

Trust me: If these things don't happen, you won't have a magazine to publish.

Nicholas J. Baranyk, Alliance, Ohio

WE INVITE LETTERS FROM READERS ON ANY SUBJECT .... Write InTech, Letter to the Editor, 67 Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA, or e-mail efussell@isa.org. Letters should be limited to 300 words and are subject to editing.